Lock No. 9 on the Great Kanawha River, three miles south of Buffalo in Putnam County, appears as a long lock and dam running diagonally across the water. Dark wooded hills rise behind the structure. Locks and dams like this were part of the Kanawha's navigation system, holding back water so boats could pass through the chamber and keeping the river usable for coal and freight. The sender's note from Buffalo calls the town duller than ever that season, a small glimpse of life along the river.
Postcard Details
Message · English, in pencil
Buffalo, 9/11
Dear Carolyn: — Your
letter received to-day.
If mamma buys Mar-
shall College, I'll have
written to papa Nice to
send my check book and
will send a [illegible] for each
of you as soon as it comes
Buffalo is duller than
I ever saw it this season
of the year. Tell Mamma
I am expecting an answer
to my letter written at Charlotte
Love to all. Poppa
PostmarkedCOL. & C. BRIDGE, MS, September 11, 1911
Real photo postcard with printed white caption; visible scratches/creases on left and bottom; image is dark and grainy; white border. Postmark: COL. & C. BRIDGE R.P.O. SEP 11 1911, TR 6. Divided-back card with pencil message; heavy creasing, surface wear, foxing/stains, and the bottom lines of the message trimmed/illegible. Partial large 'AMS'/'111' handstamp at right edge. A word after 'Buffalo,' in the dateline was struck through by the writer before '9/11'.
Cite this card
Lock No. 9 on Great Kanawha River, near Buffalo, WV, 1911, postcard, c. 1911. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/lock-no-9-on-great-kanawha-river-near-buffalo-wv-1911. Accessed November 2, 2026.
